WSTK (104.5
FM ''97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge'') is an American
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed to serve the
community
A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...
of
Aurora, North Carolina
Aurora is a town in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 520 at the 2010 Census.
Geography
Aurora is located at (35.301476, -76.789461).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , ...
. The station is owned by Media East, LLC. WSTK offers a Contemporary Christian format as 97.5 & 104.5 The Bridge.
History
In October 2007, WSTK began simulcasting
WLGT 98.3 FM, airing a
Contemporary Christian format, branded as The Light. It was also simulcast on
WEGG
WEGG (95.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format that licensed to Bowman, Georgia, United States. The station is owned by Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting Companies under licensee Lake Hartwell Radio, Inc.
On May 3 ...
(710 AM) for the first month.
In March 2008, The Light brand was dropped from WSTK and WLGT. WSTK, WLGT, and WEGG were rebranded Glory Radio, all three stations operating separately. WSTK offered a
Southern Gospel
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...
format.
In June 2008, WLGT became "The Promise 98.3". WEGG and WSTK were rebranded Joy 710 & 104.5 with a traditional black gospel music format, operating the same syndicated format as 1490
WWIL (AM), under LMA by the same person who operates 1490.
In October 2008, WSTK went
silent due to financial difficulties, and one month later changed its
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
to "WAVQ". The station came back on the air for less than one month under the name The Wave with a
Carolina Beach Music
Beach music, also known as Carolina beach music, and to a lesser extent, Beach pop, is a regional genre of music in the United States which developed from rock/ R&B and pop music of the 1950s and 1960s. Beach music is most closely associated ...
format, simulcasting with
WAVQ 1400 AM in
Jacksonville, North Carolina
Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...
. The venture was cut short when the principal investor backed out. The station went silent once again.
On February 6, 2009, the call sign was reverted to WSTK.
In May 2009, WSTK resumed broadcasting, simulcasting WEGG. WEGG added new FM translator W240BN 95.9 FM. W240BN was located on the 710 AM tower, and broadcast with 250 watts of power. The station was rebranded as The Gospel Superstation.
On June 1, 2009, WSTK went silent once again.
On July 1, 2010, WSTK began simulcasting WEGG (710 AM) The Gospel Superstation, once again.
On September 1, 2010, WSTK broke away from the simulcast with WEGG and was rebranded as Hometown Gospel Station before going silent yet again on October 4, 2010.
On January 4, 2011, WSTK returned to the air as Your Christian Radio, broadcasting a traditional black gospel format. The station began a
simulcast
Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
with WLGT-FM 98.3 on November 14, 2011.
In April 2012, WSTK and WLGT flipped to a
Christian Talk format, under the same branding as Your Christian Radio.
WSTK fell silent again on January 18, 2012 due to transmitter problems.
WSTK resumed broadcasting in January 2013, simulcasting WLGT as Your Christian Radio.
On May 4, 2013, WLGT (98.3 FM) became "The Bridge" with a
Contemporary Christian Music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
format, while WSTK continued under the Your Christian Radio branding.
In June 2013, WSTK's transmitter power supply failed, which caused the station to be silent until the new power supply would arrive, the manufacturer stated it would take "more than 30 days" to send out a new power supply.
In June 2013, WSTK resumed operations under new branding as The Vine Connection with an
Urban contemporary gospel format, under LMA. The Vine Connection was previously on
WTOW 1320 AM in
Washington, North Carolina
Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...
from 2005 to 2008, and 2011 to 2013. The Vine Connection was unable to generate sufficient revenue to continue operating the radio station, and was, unfortunately, dropped from the station on February 29, 2016. The Vine Connection does, however, continue to operate as an internet radio station.
On March 1, 2016, Surge Media, LLC entered into an LMA with Media East, LLC to operate WSTK. Surge Media, LLC also operates WEGG 710 AM via LMA, and owns FM translator W263BE 100.5 FM. WSTK once again began simulcasting WEGG, as Surge Radio with a
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary/
Dance Hits
Dance/Mix Show Airplay (formerly Hot Dance Airplay) is a monitored electronic dance music radio chart that is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine.
History
The chart came about as a result of the small but influential impact of electronic d ...
format, and on Sunday offers
Urban Gospel
Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...
. The first song as Surge Radio was Chromeo - Fancy Footwork.
On August 10, 2016, Surge Media, LLC announced that it would be ending its LMA with Media East, LLC and would cease broadcasting on WSTK as of August 31, 2016 at 11:59pm. Surge Media, LLC was unable to generate any revenue from the station, and determined that it was not a viable option to continue operating the signal. Ken Santarelli of Surge Media, LLC cited extreme tropospheric interference problems as being the major component of why WSTK was not viable, in which
tropospheric ducting would cause other radio stations, even from several states away, to cause interference in the Morehead City, New Bern, and Washington areas; making WSTK unlistenable for as much as six hours out of the day. Interference from the recently upgraded
WYHW also caused additional interference issues, specifically in the Morehead City area.
The simulcast with WEGG ended at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2016 with Haley - This Is How It Goes. Afterward, WSTK went silent. Surge Radio continued to broadcast on WEGG until January 10, 2017. Surge continues to stream online.
On Thursday, October 6, 2016 WSTK became Oldies 104.5, playing a fully automated Oldies format, ranging from the 1930s to the 1990s. The Oldies format also failed to generate any revenue. The Oldies format ended abruptly when the Studio-To-Transmitter Link was hacked, and the station began playing a loop of ''FDT'' by
YG and
Nipsey Hussle
Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...
. It took several days before station management noticed the problem, WSTK was then taken off the air on January 31, 2017.
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017 WSTK, once again, became The Vine Connection with an Urban Contemporary Gospel format, under LMA.
On Friday, September 1, 2017 WSTK began simulcasting, once again, on WEGG, continuing as The Vine Connection
On Monday, July 1, 2019 WSTK ceased simulcasting on WEGG. WSTK is continuing as The Vine Connection but WEGG became Country music WKOO-100.5 Kix FM.
On Wednesday, June 1, 2022 WSTK flipped formats to a simulcast of WLGT as 98.3 & 104.5 The Bridge
References
External links
*
{{Greenville-New Bern Radio
STK
Gospel radio stations in the United States
Beaufort County, North Carolina
STK